What is enhancement?
Imagine you want to be first in the Olympic games!
What would you do if you were allowed to do anything?
Simply put, enhancement is an intervention to improve human performance.
If you have an injured leg, you might have orthopedic surgery.
My back hurts, let’s put a corset on it. Physical enhancement.
You can “do whatever you want”, so drinking Red Bull, painkillers, doping, etc. are OK.
Scientific enhancement.
Do you get excited when you hear a cheering song? It is a psychological enhancement.
Enhancement is nothing special. Even without advanced technology, “going to bed early the day before” can be an enhancement.
Making an opponent fall” is not an enhancement because it is not an enhancement or improvement. It is just an obstruction.
Classification of Enhancement
Classification of Enhancement
Classification by target of enhancement
Enhancement of physical ability
The purpose is to improve the athletic ability and endurance of the body.
Doping is a typical example. Growth hormones promote height, muscle endurance, etc.
Examples
in disease: Recovery from physical injury
in healthy: Injury prevention
to excellence: increase in muscle strength, etc.
Enhancement of cognitive ability
The objective is to improve cognitive abilities (memory, concentration, etc.).
Examples
In illness: administration of psychotropic drugs (e.g., methylphenidate for ADHD, modafinil for narcolepsy)
In health: maintenance of memory
To excellence: non-applicable administration of methylphenidate (e.g., to improve concentration before an exam)
As a type of cognitive enhancement, there are also treatments for disposition and behavior (ADHD, depression, etc.).
Classification by Technology
Physical enhancement
Brain therapy, BMI (Brain Machine Interface), Lobotomy, etc.
Scientific enhancement
Chemicals, drugs, alcohol, caffeine, doping, etc.
Psychological enhancement
Medical intervention through counseling
Voice guidance in education and coaching
Encouragement, placebo effect, talisman, etc. can also be considered as a psychological enhancement.
In relation to pedagogy, motivational theory and self-determination theory are relevant.
Enhancement is not clearly divided into the above three categories, and it can also be a combination of the three.
The example of an English lesson for working people in which a little alcohol improves communication is a psychological effect of scientific enhancement.
In many cases, an intervention has a compound effect because humans are not a simple system.
Basic Ethical Issues
Fundamentally, the ethical issues are those that go beyond what is necessary to restore or maintain health.
That is, biomedical interventions are used to improve human form or function beyond what is medically necessary.
Although the ethical issues have become more complex in recent years, let us review the basic issues.
Plastic surgery techniques to repair physical injuries sustained in war → Cosmetic surgery
Restoration of visual impairment through artificial retinas → + recording capabilities
Is there a line between medically necessary technology and physical enhancement technology?
Anderson (1989) points out that we cannot draw a line between medical intervention or treatment and “enhancement technology.
For example, the use of ankle-strengthening surgery to improve the competitiveness of a bicycle racer raises “strengthening” concerns.
However, that surgery is not a problem as a treatment for a cyclist’s ankle injury.
In other words, there is no such thing as “enhancement technology” per se.
Whether a given biomedical intervention is considered an “enhancement” depends on how the technique is used.
Ethical Issues
Discuss the ethical issues in the following cases.
Make a persuasive argument for each Con and Pro argument. (Half Debate format)
→Check how each paper develops its argument.
- Cosmetic surgery and the use of biosynthetic growth hormone to increase height (Miller, Brody and Chung, 2000; Little, 1998; White, 1993; Conrad and Potter, 2004)
- Use of “blood doping” and steroids to improve exercise endurance and stamina (Miah 2004; Murray 2009; Tolleneer, 2013)
- Nootropic approaches to improve memory, mood, and cognitive performance (Elliott 1998; Whitehoust, et. al. 1997; Sandberg 2011; Glannon 2008; Levy, Douglas, Kahane, et. al. 2014a Duncan 2016; Earp 2018)
- Potential genetic and neurological manipulations to extend human lifespan, acquire new sensory-motor abilities, and live together in a more peaceful, generous, and just way through “moral enhancement” (cf. Savulescu, Meulen and Kahane 2011; Harris 2016; Wiseman 2016; Johnson, Bishop and Toner 2019)
There are many other ethical and philosophical issues that need to be addressed:
- Issues of justice and fairness (is it unjust to take drugs before an exam, or is it unjust to be able to work on a concentrated personal hobby)
- Medicalization: Medicalization of something that does not require medical treatment increases dependence on drugs (e.g., depression).
- Complicity (medical complicity in lookism)
- Identity issues (what is the true self?)
- Loss of human diversity and the element of chance
- Connection with eugenics
- etc.
Enhancement and Technology
While common eyeglasses and the “Shunsoku” sneakers that are very popular among elementary school students are physical enhancements, physical enhancements through technology are also attracting attention.
Physical enhancement through technology is attracting attention.
Three categories of technological enhancement
1. Genetic recombination
2. Application of artificial intelligence
3. Wearing devices connected to the Internet (IoB, Internet on body)
Genetic recombination
For example, genetic engineering is used to reduce the risk of genetic diseases in people who may develop them in the future.
Application of artificial intelligence
IoB (Internet on body)
Wearable (wearable) or implantable (implantable) devices are worn on the body.
It starts with existing devices such as electronic hearing aids that are connected to the Internet.
A research report by a non-profit research organization called RAND introduces recent trends in considerable detail.
The RAND research report specifically focuses on the diversion of enhancement from military use.
Military applications may not seem relevant to the lives of ordinary people, but many of the things we are familiar with today, such as GPS, satellite maps, and drones, were originally used by the military.
For example, a research report points out the following about gene editing.
It will take at least 10 years for gene editing to become a reliable HPE modality.
Blumenthal, Marjory S., Alison K. Hottes, Christy Foran, and Mary Lee, Technological Approaches to Human Performance Enhancement. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2021.
Initially driven by the potential to avert or mitigate disease, gene editing could foster certain physical characteristics (e.g., the ability to cope with low oxygen levels) and assist warfighters.
Although gene editing is fraught with safety and ethical concerns, China is known to be investing heavily in related biotechnologies for national security and prestige.
When will it happen?
Of the three categories-genetics, AI, and IoB-the earliest to be realized are IoB technologies, in which devices are worn or implanted.Over the next 3-5 years, the variety of wearables will increase and the technology that can be implanted will advance.
Since the sense of taste is located in the mouth, with no sensory organs exposed to the environment, these wearables or implants will be essential for technological enhancement.
Currently, devices communicate with each other via servers on the Internet.
In the future, the possibility of building peer-to-peer networks (direct communication between devices without going through a server) will become possible.
Reference materials
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Human Enhancement
RAND Research report: Technological Approaches to Human Performance Enhancement
Basic works in this field
Parens, E., 1995. “The Goodness of Fragility: On the Prospect of Genetic Technologies Aimed at the Enhancement of Human Capacities,” Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 5(2): 141-153.
Anderson, W. F., 1989. “Human Gene Therapy: Why Draw a Line?”, Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, 14(6): 681-693. On Drawing a Line between Medical Technology and Human Enhancement Technology